Hey, Roomie?
by scarletcanary
Summary: With payday weeks away Nate asks Ava if he can stay with her. When she initially refuses he pulls the trans community card and somehow she doesn't hate having him around.


**Inspired by** ** kendrasaunders's post on tumblr form like last year.**

**nate to ava: you can't kick me out i**** invoke trans solidarity**  
**ava, through gritted teeth: god damn it**

** post/179571969289/nate-to-ava-you-cant-kick-me-out-i-invoke-trans**

* * *

"Hey, Nate." Ava greeted him as he walked into her office and approached her desk.

It was getting late at the Bureau, as five o'clock had come and gone. Ava had the new budget to go over and was looking at another late night.

"Hey Ava, um, when you offered me a job you were being serious, right? You weren't like joking with me or anything?" Nate asked, with a nervous smile.

"I was being serious," Ava said, giving him a smile. "I've seen your work with the Legends and it'd be good to have you around."

"Great, like the put me on the payroll tomorrow kinda thing?" Nate asked.

"Yep, You can start on the paperwork tomorrow. I'll see you then," Ava said, turning her attention back to the budget paperwork.

"So like, how soon does that payroll start?" He asked, clasping his hands together.

"Paychecks go out every other Friday, and as I'm sure you know, you will get your first paycheck two weeks after you start. With the new budget, I can pay all my current employees this Friday. Right on schedule. Plus, I kind of asked for 4.1 billion when we really only needed 4.05 billion," Ava admitted.

"You asked for an extra 50 million?" Nate asked, astonished that she could have pulled that off.

"It's not like we don't need it," Ava explained. "There are plenty of things that need to be updated. The bureau hasn't had a good budget since it was created in 2012 and I should probably put the Legends on the payroll. Given how well you're doing financially and how much they've helped us over the past year."

"And it doesn't hurt to have the Mrs. earning a few extra dollars."

"No, it does not."

"So," Nate said, pausing. "Is there any way I could get an advance on that? I did technically work today." Nate said.

"Sorry Nate, you haven't even begun your paperwork yet and you can't begin your official career here until you do. I also don't technically have that 4.1 billion and I can't pay you until that paperwork is filed as well." Ava explained. "The budget we had will run out in 48 hours and I need to pay our existing departments, this Friday, before any new hires."

"Okay, I guess I'll just have to stay at the bureau for a couple more days," he sighed, dramatically falling into one of her chairs. "Unless…"

Ava looked back up at him. She could already see the wheels turning in his head. She had a strange feeling that she wouldn't like the direction he was taking this conversation.

"There was someone who was willing to let me stay with them. After all, I am a great roommate. I do my chores, I keep the bathroom clean…"

"Absolutely not," Ava said, interrupting his smooching.

"I can cook," he offered, upping the ante. He knew from Sara, that Ava hated cooking. Although she tried to force herself to try it, with disastrous results. Often using Sara as her test taster. "My mom taught me how to cook all the Italian favorites. Pizza, spaghetti, linguine..."

Ava considered it for a moment as he continued. Of all the times Sara had complained about living with the Legends. Her only gripe about Nate had been that he stayed up too late and overworked himself, occasionally forgetting to shower.

Nate could see that she was considering his offer and continued. "Please Ava, I've got nowhere else to go and it would only be temporary. Just until I can get paid and find my own place."

"I don't know." Ava hesitated again.

"Come on Ava, us trans folks gotta stick together. You can't say no, I invoked trans solidarity. You can't betray your community!"

Damn it, she cursed in her head. He had her with that one. She couldn't let a member of her own community continued to be homeless.

"Fine," she agreed.

"Yes," Nate cheered, getting up. "I promise that you won't regret it."

"But," she said, interrupting his celebration. "Since you can't pay me rent, you have to make it up in housework."

"Done and done," he said.

"Good," she said, folding the file, then grabbing her briefcase and coat. "Then you can start by making us dinner tonight."

* * *

"Honey, I'm home," Sara sang, as she walked through the portal into Ava's mudroom.

"Sara?" Ava asked. She had forgotten to tell Sara that Nate would be there when she got home and judging by Sara's voice she could be planning to surprise Ava, only Ava.

"Yeah, Babe who else would it…" Sara trailed off as she walked into the main room, seeing Nate at the counter cooking. "Be."

Sara pointed at Nate, her eyebrows pressed together and mouth slightly open.

"Hey sweetie," Ava said, rushing over to greet her with a kiss. Relieved that Sara was fully dressed in her usual clothes, a leather jacket, t-shirt, and jeans. Sara was easily distracted by Ava's lips and Ava felt her melt, pressing herself into Ava, as she wrapped her arms around Sara

"Hey," Sara said, brushing Ava's hair away. A smile grew across Ava's face, one she had just for Sara.

They gazed into each other's eyes, and all Ava could think about was how much she loved her. So much so that at times it felt like her heart would burst from her chest.

"Hey Cap'n," Nate said, popping their little bubble of love.

Sara sighed and looked up to the ceiling. "Hello Nate."

Ava laughed at the whole thing and kissed Sara's chin. Which was still pointed to the ceiling.

"Why is he here," Sara whispered, looking back at her.

"He needed a place to stay. I couldn't say no," Ava said.

Sara smiled softly, "Ava Sharpe you are such a pushover."

"I am not," Ava whispered, as Sara walked past her.

Sara turned around and walked backward, mouthing to Ava 'yes you are.'

Ava huffed and followed Sara to the kitchen and sat next to her. Pushing their chairs closer together.

"I'm surprised you let Nate cook though," Sara said, trying to get a taste of the mashed potatoes with her finger, only to have it slapped away by Ava.

"What? I'm a great cook!" Nate said.

Ava looked at him and could see the lie on his face. That fake confidence and assurance gave way to the doubt she could see hidden in his features. "Nate, you said you could cook! That your Mom taught you!"

"She gave me all her recipes when I moved out and it's not that hard to follow. See I'm doing great," He offered her a look at the chicken and sauce he was making. It did look good and smelled even better.

Sara fished out a spoon from the counter next to her and dipped it in the sauce. Ava watched as she brought it to her lips and Sara's face immediately scrunched up.

"Oh god. Why is it so sour?" she asked, grabbing the recipe off of the counter next to him.

"Well, I put a little lemon in it," Nate explained. "I've seen my mom do it all the time."

Ava shrugged, to her knowledge lemon was a good seasoner, but Sara shook her head.

"Nate you can't add lemon to Chicken Marsala. It's a disaster. We can't eat this!"

Sara got up and grabbed two spoons, dipping them into the pan and offering one to Ava, then Nate. The second Ava let the sauce touch her lips, she recoiled at the bitter taste.

Nate too spat out the spoonful Sara had given him realizing his disaster.

"Sorry guys," Nate said, as he turned off the burner.

"It's okay, you tried," Sara said, as she took the pan to the garbage and scrapped the food it in.

"What are we going to do now?" Ava asked. "It's too late to make anything else."

Sara put the pan in the sink and turned around. "It's never too late to order pizza."

* * *

Two hours later they were in front of the TV with an empty box of pizza, watching whatever late night show was on. Ava laughed at the host's joke and felt Sara's chuckle against her chest. Sara was lounging on top of her, with her head rested against Ava's collar bone, and Ava's arms wrapped around her waist, resting on her abs. Ava's legs were propped up on the coffee table, a bad habit she had picked up from Sara. Sara closed her eyes and tucked her head into Ava's chest. As Ava ran her fingers through her hair, Sara seemed to melt into her, and Ava kissed her head because she could.

Nate chuckled as he looked over at them from where he was lounging on the recliner, "You aren't falling asleep on us, are you, Captain?"

"Shut up, Nathaniel," Sara said, not bothering to open her eyes.

"Have you had a long day?" Ava asked, continuing to run her fingers through Sara's hair and massaging her scalp.

"Yeah, there was a kid and her fairy godmother, and then Zari..." Sara sighed.

"Is she okay?" Nate asked.

"Yeah, she's fine. She just misses her family."

They lapsed into silence, as they went back to watching the show. Sara moved to curl up sideways. Sitting on Ava's lap, facing away from Nate, she buried her face into Ava's chest.

Ava worried about why Sara had brought up Zari. There was clearly more to the story but, it must have been something personal or she would have continued. Ava moved her hand to the collar of Sara's shirt and eased it under to rest on her collarbone. Knowing that physical comfort would help her more than talking would. The blanket they had curled up with covered any of Ava actions.

She felt Sara let out a heavy breath and relax at her touch. Ava liked being connected to her. It was times like these when she was able to help Sara relax, that Ava felt overcome with love for her. Something about the gentle night and the ease of their activity made Ava feel soft and giddy with love.

"Boobies," Sara murmured, as she moved to nuzzled Ava's breast.

Ava giggled, knowing that Sara was too tired to take things any further. She let Sara bury her nose into her cleavage, pulling the blanket over her head.

"What?" Nate asked, whispering to her.

"Nothing," she mouthed to him over Sara's head.

Nate shrugged and went back to the show.

Ava moved her fingers along Sara's collarbone, but her skin was sticky with sweat and Ava's fingers didn't move as gently as she wanted them to. She pulled her hand away and placed her other hand on Sara's back. Rubbing up and down along her spine in slow circles, in the places she knew Sara held her tension. Sara fell asleep quickly, the blanket blocking the glow of the TV as it cast its light on them.

Ava waited until she was sure that Sara had fallen into a deep sleep and wouldn't wake up when Ava moved. Sara had tucked herself into Ava's chest before she had fallen asleep, making it easier for Ava to simply slide one arm under her legs and pick her up.

It was a little hard getting up, from her reclined position, but she managed to stand up. Sara stirred in her arms and Ava was afraid she'd wake up, but she soon settled.

"Is she asleep?" Nate asked, in a terrible fake whisper of a voice.

"Yes, now shush," Ava whispered.

"Wow," He said. "Well, good night."

Ava turned and walked to the stairs, but not before she glanced at the kitchen. The dishes were piled so high in the sink that all of them would never be able to fit in the dishwasher. If there was one thing Ava hated, it was leaving dishes in the sink overnight. She could just imagine the cockroaches, ants, and other bugs, crawling into her house to feast on her crumbs. Maybe she could put Sara up upstairs and come back down to finish them.

Nate bounded up from the couch after catching her looking at the kitchen. "Don't worry Ava, I'll do the dishes. You just go to bed."

"Thank you, Nate," she said, relieved that she wouldn't have to worry about them.

"Yeah, it's the least I can do," he said, as he turned on the faucet and grabbed the rag.

"Okay, just don't stay up too late once you're done. We have to leave by 8:40 am on the dot if we want to make it into the office on time."

"I'll set an alarm," Nate said, way too enthusiastically for the current time of night. "And thanks. I'm sorry I lied about being able to cook, but I appreciate you letting me stay."

"Don't mention it," Ava said. "I know you'd do the same for me."

Nate smiled and turned back to the soap filled sink and Ava smiled too as she walked up the stairs with Sara in her arms. Maybe it would be nice to have Nate as a roommate, not that she would tell him that. So far he had kept his word, attempted to cook dinner, and even cleaning up the dishes afterward. She had gotten used to having Sara partly living with her and the house fell too big and too empty every time she was home alone. I would be nice not to be alone all the time.

* * *

The next morning she wasn't surprised that she was the only one up after she exited her shower. Sara often slept in, only waking up in time to send her off and she figured Nate would have his own a morning schedule. She blow dried her hair, did her makeup, and put on a new estrogen patch.

After she had disposed of the old patch Sara came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist, kissing her neck.

"Good morning," Sara mumbled, sleep still heavy in her voice.

"Good morning," Ava replied, grabbing Sara's hands on her abdomen and holding them in place for a moment.

She could feel Sara rest her head between her shoulder blades and turned around. She cupped Sara's face to give her a proper greeting and kissing her warm lips. Ava pulled away too soon and Sara leaned in for more. She kisses her again and savored the intimacy that they had. Sara hummed when she pulled back, still half asleep, content and at ease. In a way that made Ava happy to see on her.

"I'm going to make breakfast, do you want anything?"

"You," Sara replied going in for another kiss. Sara slipped her hand down Ava's pants, sliding it down her length and felling around her testis, trying to muffle her.

"Sara," Ava drew her name out as she drew Sara's hand from her pants. "If you wanted morning sex, then you should have gotten up earlier."

Ava ducked past her and kissed Sara's neck. Before she left the bedroom, she heard Sara turn on the water for her shower.

By the time she did see Nate, she was in the kitchen finishing up breakfast. He bounded down the stairs and gave her a pleasant smile. How he could be a morning person and a night owl was beyond her, not that she would complain.

"Hello Director Sharpe, I'm ready for my first day," he said, to her. Looking more like a boy ready for school, then a grown man off to work.

"Good morning Nate, I'm glad that you're ready." She said, pouring her coffee into a travel mug.

"Yep," he said, wandering into the kitchen.

"You sure are excited this morning," she said.

Sara's laughed as she came down the stairs. "Get used to it. He is always like this."

Nate just gave a shrug in reply.

"Have you eaten yet?" Ava asked.

"No, I'll just get something once we get to the office," Nate said.

"It will be easier if you have something now. Here take some of my eggs. If you want something else, you can look in the cupboard," Ava said. "We can go shopping later tonight, but Gary is gonna be here in a few minutes."

"Gary?" Nate asked, taking the plate she offered him. "Why would Gary be here?"

"It's his turn to drive the carpool," Ava explained, as she handed Sara a bowl of oatmeal when she sat down on the bar stool at the counter. "We switch every three days you can start driving on Thursday."

"A carpool," Nate asked. "An actual carpool."

"It's not that unusual," Sara said.

Ava didn't dignify his bewildered expressions with an answer. She simply looked at Sara who shrugged.

"Maybe not for you, Mrs. Domestic," Nate teased.

Sara snorted and gave him a shove. Ava glared at them until they went back to their meals. When she turned around, Sara smacked him. He probably would have retaliated, but Ava turned around. Sara smiled and took a bite of her oatmeal, looking completely innocent.

Nate rolled his eyes, letting it slide and grabbing an apple and a granola bar. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door signaling Gary's arrival. Nate and Ava gathered their things and Sara kissed Ava goodbye, before waving them off to work.

"Good morning, Director Sharpe," Gary said, with his usual enthusiasm. As they climbed into the car.

"Good morning Gary," she replied, bucking herself in.

"Morning Gar," Nate said, from the backseat.

"Good morning Mr. Hayward," Gary said.

"Gary, you don't have to call me that, we're friends."

"Alright Nathaniel," Gary said, it emphasizing his name.

"That's worse."

"Can you please start the car Gary," Ava said.

"Yes, ma'am."

* * *

Over the next few days, Ava found that she didn't mind living with Nate. Although, he didn't cook he did do the dishes and helped her clean the house regularly. They spent more time that she thought they would together, either doing chores or relaxing at the end of the day.

Ava stared down at the sink full of dishes. Not just any dishes, dishes filled with, well not food, hardening to the bottom of them. She held her nose as she examined her beautiful farm style sink, the smell was what brought her down stairs.

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon and she was reading in her chair upstairs. Drifting off as the warm spring breeze floated in through her open window. She had been lightly dozing for the majority of the afternoon. Sara was away on business with the Legends and Nate was in his room, working on something history related. She could hear one of the documentaries he had playing in the background.

It wasn't long before the smell of smoke and musk filled her nostrils and she jolted up. She ran around the house trying to find the source before her nose led her to the kitchen and the mess in the sink. She had interrupted Nate in her haste, he had followed her down and was now standing beside her surveying the mess.

"Nate I understand if you don't want to do the dishes right away, but there are times when these things need to be taken care of. This is completely unacceptable. I demand that you take care of it this instant."

Nate squawked and gave her a bewildered look. "You think this was me? I've been upstairs this entire time."

"Well there's no one else in this house who could have made this mess," she stated.

"How do I know that this wasn't one of your dinner recipes gone wrong."

"Do you really think I could have left the sink in such a state."

"I think you could have," he said, crossing his arms. "You have me around to do all the dishes. So why shouldn't you leave it like this?"

"You agreed to do the dishes for our shared meals in exchange for rent," she said.

"So you think I'm your personal busboy?" he countered.

"No that's preposterous," she interrupted.

"You just said so."

"Yes, because we had agreed upon this."

"This was not what I signed up for," he said gesturing to the sink.

"Well I didn't do it," she said, standing up straighter.

"And I didn't do it," he said, matching her posture and defiance.

They stood there. Staring, neither one willing to break.

"I guess they're only one way to settle this," Nate said.

"I suppose so," Ava said.

Ava rolled up her sleeves and Nate slicked back his hair. They each held out their palm laying a fist upon it.

"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

They each pulled out scissors, and Nate sighed, "Why am I not surprised."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ava asked.

"Nothing let's just go again."

"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

They each pulled out paper, then rock, then paper, and then scissors again.

"This is pointless," Ava said. "Let's just do the dishes together."

"Yeah, okay," Nate agreed. "But let's grab some gloves first."

It took a bit of work and Ava's favorite scrub brush could not be saved, but they finally managed to clean every pot, pan, and fork. They stacked them on the drying rack, dried off their hands, and went back to their lazy activities. Saying nothing else of the mess.

* * *

"Hey, I'm home," Sara said, a few hours later, taking off her coat and giving Ava a kiss.

She looked over towards the kitchen sink and pointed at it. "What happened to my dishes?"

"Your dishes?" Ava asked. Surely she would have known if Sara had come back and made a mess

"Yeah, we had to make this crazy poison with Constantine and the gally on the Waverider was broken. So we used your stuff and I figured I'd cleaned it all up later, but we had to get going and I completely forgot."

"That was your mess," Nate said, with a smug tone.

"Yeah," Sara said, not catching on. "Was there a problem or something?"

"Nope, not at all," Nate and Ava said, refusing to admit to their childish squabble.

"But you're doing the dinner dishes tonight," Nate said, before going back upstairs.

Ava pulled Sara into her lap and blew raspberries onto her neck, making Sara giggle.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Sara laughed.

"Oh, you will be," Ava said, ticking her stomach, as Sara's laugh filled the home.

* * *

Ava would never admit it, but she liked having a consistent roommate. Sara tried to sleep over as much as possible, but there were nights when she only managed to crawl into Ava's bed at two in the morning. Having Nate around was like having a sibling. Ava never thought she'd have the chance to have that kind of family. She thought that maybe one day she could have kids with Sara, and they could have a little family of their own. In Nate, she found a little brother, friends in Gary, Mona and Nora, and family with the Legends, even a reluctant drunk uncle.

"Hey, Ava?" Nate asked, poking his head into her office one afternoon.

"Yes," she said, putting down the report she was reading.

"I was thinking about getting take out for tonight? Maybe some Pad Thai or Sushi?"

"Sounds good."

"Cool, I'm gonna stop by the Waverider, I kinda miss Ray, but I'll ask if Sara will be eating at our place while I'm there. So I'll see you at home," Nate said, before ducking out of her office.

"See you then," Ava called after him, wondering when her house became his home.

* * *

Ava heard a portal opening behind her and quickly turned around, expecting to see Nate, not Sara, who stepped through.

"Hey you," Ava greeted her.

"Well hello," Sara said, with a sultry smile as she sauntered up to her.

Ava chuckled as Sara leaned up to greet Ava with a kiss. One that quickly became heated as Sara pushed herself against Ava and ran her hands up her sides. Ava moaned and pressed her hands into Sara's hips, pushing Sara's sweater up with her fingertips. She dipped them below the waistband of Sara's jeans and ran her fingers along Sara's skin.

It had been so long since they were able to do anything like this. With Nate sleeping down the hall and Sara's noisy tendencies, they had to keep things quiet. Ava kissed down her jaw as Sara moaned loudly, just at the feeling of Ava's hands and lips on her body.

Sara turned them around and pushed Ava away from the kitchen. Capturing her lips, she pushed them back until Ava's thighs hit the back of the table. Sara finally let her breath and removed her mouth from Ava's as she urged her to sit on the table. She went straight for the button on Ava's pants, with clear intentions.

"No, Sara, our guests eat off this table," Ava said, standing back up.

"But I wanna eat off this table," Sara pouted, with flushed cheeks and messy hair, she was adorable.

"Well too bad," Ava said, moving around Sara and folding her arms. Knowing she wouldn't be able to resist Sara if she was touching her.

"Aww," Sara whined.

"Are you really that needy?"

Sara gave her a light shrug, looking her up and down. "It's just that it's been a while."

"I know it's been a while since we had the place to ourselves, but otherwise it's been less than 24 hours," Ava rolled her eyes. "We've gone longer than that before."

"I just missed you okay, gees what's a girl gotta do to get laid around here," Sara complied.

Ava laughed, a full and loud laugh that echoed around the room. When it turned into giggles, she looked back at Sara to see that she was smiling. Sara placed both hands on her face and kissed her sweetly.

When she pulled away Ava wrapped her arms around Sara's waist and pulled her back towards the bench. She sat down and pulled Sara into her lap.

"What am I going to do with you?" Ava asked, as her fingers danced at Sara's hemline.

She teased Sara by playing with the button on her jeans and pulling down her zipper. Sara whined and threw back her head, Ava loved it when Sara was needy like this, she was so cute and it reminded Ava that Sara still wanted her.

"Stop, you always tease me," Sara complained, holding Ava's hands to push her forward.

Ava leaned in and kissed Sara undoing the button and slipping her hand into Sara's pants. Her other hand steadied Sara at the small of her back and Sara warped her arms around Ava's neck. Sara broke the kiss and breathed heavily as she leaned her forehead against Ava's.

Ava pressed two fingers to Sara's labia, parting her lips and finding her clit. Sara sighed turning to mush in Ava's lap and lowing herself onto her fingers as Ava began to circle her clit. Ava could feel her own arousal coil inside of her and her penis grow hard as Sara moaned and moved her hips in a steady motion, rubbing against her groin.

A portal opened in the living room and Ava yanked her hand from Sara's pants.

"Hey guys," Nate said, as he stepped through.

Ava panicked and abruptly stood up accidentally dropping Sara onto the floor.

"Oh, babe I'm so sorry," Ava stammered as she tried to help her up.

Sara sat stunned, on the floor and grabbed Ava's outstretched hand. Ava pulled her up and Sara turned around to hastily button her jeans. Ava realized her own arousal was evident as well and folded her hands in front of her trousers.

Nate meanwhile had covered his eyes and was just standing there holding the pizzas and soda. He had clearly seen what was going on and Ava panicked trying to come up with an explanation. Sara, as always, had the perfect way to fix the situation, by ignoring it.

"Let's eat," she said, going into the kitchen and grabbing some plates.

"That's a great idea," Nate said, setting the pizza down on the table, without looking at them.

"Perfect," Ava said, rushing to wash her hands, hoping that the cold water would wash away both of their excitement.

* * *

Later that night, after the pizza had been eaten, and the leftovers put away. They all collapsed on the couch to watch whatever late night talk show was on. Sara had fallen asleep on top of her. Snoring away from where she was tucked under Ava's chin. Ava ran her fingers through her hair and kissed her forehead.

She caught Nate looking over at them with a smile. He leaned over to whisper to her. "I'll portal into the mud room next time."

"That's not necessary," Ava said, shaking her head.

"No, I mean it's your house. You shouldn't have to worry about me interrupting you," Nate said, muting the TV.

"Nate it's your home too," Ava said, stilling her hand in Sara's hair. "You shouldn't have to worry about walking in on us. We'll keep our business to the bedroom."

Nate gave her a small smile. "Thanks, cause I was wondering if I could stay here a little bit longer. I haven't found an apartment that's close to the Bureau, in my price range, and that I feel like I can live in."

"Yeah, of course, you can stay," Ava said. "I've enjoyed having you around."

"Cool," Nate said, turning back to the show and unmuting it.

Ava yawned and moved to get up. She figured it was time to head to bed as every time she leaned her head back she would close her eyes and almost drift off. The motion woke Sara up and she rubbed her eyes while they got up. Sara then reached out for her and Ava wrapped her arm around Sara's waist. Steading Sara as she fumbled like a baby deer and leading her to the stairs.

"Night you two," Nate called, looking back at them.

"Night night Nate," Sara mumbled.

"Good night, Nathaniel," Ava said, using his full name just to tease him.

He laughed, the sound echoing around the room as Ava and Sara trudged upstairs.

* * *

**Notes: Muffling is a sex act of fingering a person with testicles in their inguinal canals. You can read more about it here.**


End file.
